The Emergence of ‘Little Guyana’ in America

By Vishnu Bisram

THE rise of Little Guyana in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, is a fascinating subject for academicians and ethnographers. Former UG Professor Dr. Gary Girdhari, who founded the Guyana Journal, wrote extensively on the history of Guyanese in Richmond Hill. He was among the first Guyanese to settle in the area and knows ‘Little Guyana’ better than most. I, myself, have written extensively on the rise of Little Guyana. Several theses have been written on Indians of ‘Little Guyana.’ I attended academic conferences in Madeira, Durban, Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad, Suriname, Sydney, and India where papers were presented on ‘Little Guyana.’ Doctoral dissertations in India also made references to Little Guyana as it is now peopled by Punjabis who are in competition with Indo-Caribbeans. Richmond Hill has the largest concentration of Guyanese outside of the homeland.

The persecution of Guyanese by the Burnham/Hoyte dictatorship (1965 to 1992) led to their emigration and settlement in America, Canada, UK, and later throughout the Caribbean and northeast-South America as they sought any location, doing practically any task, to eke out a basic living. This desperate migration and re-settlement, as well as interest and deep-rooted connections to their former homeland, resulted in the emergence of the Guyanese diaspora.

Guyanese started coming to NY, mostly as students at technical or trade schools and tourists in the late 1960s and 1970s and settled in low-rental areas of lower and mid-Manhattan and Jamaica, Queens. They tried settling in Richmond Hill in the late 1970s, but there was strong resistance from the Irish and Italians who had populated the area for generations. As Dr Girdhari can attest, caucasians instructed real estate and home owners not to sell to Indians and other non-Whites. I first visited the area in 1977 or 78 and I could feel the intense hate for non-Whites. Blacks were not allowed in the area. Not even to attend schools; they had their own schools. 8 It was not till the early 1980s when caucasians were leaving the area that Indo-Caribbeans began clustering in Richmond Hill.

As the caucasian population aged and gradually moved out, the neighbourhood was gradually absorbed by Guyanese and ‘Trini’ homeowners, and the demographics changed rapidly. The entire area was quickly transformed. Old buildings were rehabilitated and new ones built by Indians – Indo-Caribbeans and Panjabis.  Liberty Avenue, a rundown street, was also transformed into a commercial district and a magnet for Guyanese and ‘Trini’ settlement and the fulcrum of economic activities. They felt at home as various legal, travel, medical, food, shopping, immigration, mandirs, masjids, churches, and ethnic Indian service became available. Around 1988, it was estimated by the Mayor’s office that some 105K Indo-‘Trinis’ lived in greater Richmond Hill as against 90K Guyanese. The Guyanese population has probably doubled since then and ‘Trinis’
grew slowly as the latter became attracted to Long Island and Florida.

The term ‘Little Guyana’ emerged in the late 1970s, but the reference was not to Richmond Hill. Few Guyanese had moved to Richmond Hill at that time. The term ‘Little Guyana’ was coined by Vassan Ramracha to refer to the area where Guyanese (and ‘Trinis’) normally clustered — 14th Street as well as Lexington Ave between 30th Street and 21st streets.  These were shopping areas – the former for cheaper garments, textile, and dry goods and the latter for Guyanese food and entertainment items – such as hassa, banga, butter fish, gilbaka, spices, ghee, religious items, Indian music and movies, etc. Tony Yassin and a partner had a halaal shop that also sold fish, spices, etc. on 30th Street and then Yassin purchased an Indian-owned business on 26th Street.

Guyanese patronised his two stores. That entire Lexington Ave area was known as “Little India,” because of the many shops and restaurants that sprang up and Indian cultural activities. I frequented the area almost every day during my university studies as I walked from the subway station at 28 Street to use the library at Baruch College on 24 Street; “Curry in a Hurry” was a regular stop because lunch was low cost (only $4) and belly filling as I economised on a student budget. During the 1970s and 1980s, you were bound to meet people from all parts of Guyana if you visited those two locations. Those areas have changed since then, attracting other ethnic communities as Guyanese have settled around Richmond Hill, Jamaica, Briarwood, Hollis, Cypress Hills, Grand Concourse, Parkchester, Flatbush, etc.

Since 1977, when I was active in the struggle against the Burnham dictatorship, it was Vassan, a key mentor and leader of the NY freedom movement, would remind a group of us to meet in ‘Little Guyana’ —  reference to 14th Street. We would meet every Saturday morning and some Sunday mornings without fail, rain, sun, snow to distribute handouts (that we prepared) on politico-socio matters pertaining to Guyana. Arjune Karshan and his two nephews and Chuck Mohan, and a few other activists, would also distribute ACG (PPP affiliated org) literature. We would have friendly banter and confrontations over ideology – they supported the East and we supported America. From 14th Street, our group would travel to Guyanese oriented activities in other parts of the city.

Liberty Avenue attracted our activism in the mid-1980s when Guyanese stores started appearing in the area. We hopped onto the A train (there were three) to last stop Lefferts Blvd. It was Vassan who coined Liberty Ave the new ‘Little Guyana’ since the mid-1980s. The ACG also descended on new Little Guyana to distribute literature. My encounters in parts of Richmond Hill were not very pleasant. The Whites had a disdain for non-Whites particularly walking through their neighbourhood, as well as travelling on the trains and buses. You could sense an unwelcome feeling. All of that has changed now with Whites socialising very closely with Indians and even attending their religious activities and marriages and participating in festivals such as Phagwah and Diwali and eating roti and curry at Guyanese restaurants.

NYC Mayor Ed Koch was approached to formally rename the Indian commercial area around Lexington Ave as ‘Little India’ and greater Liberty Ave as “Little Guyana”.  He responded there was no need to do so and that it would take a long time to get it done. Koch explained that Little Italy, Little Ireland, Little Greece, Little Cyprus, China Town, and other ethnic neighbourhoods were not officially named as such, but were given their monikers, and the new names stuck until official renaming came much later. Koch, a friend of Indian Americans, advised that the neighbourhoods renaming requested be so referred to by their communities. Indian and Guyanese businesses moved out of Lexington Ave. Jackson Heights came to be known as the new Little India since the late 1980s.

It was Chuck Mohan who proposed the formal renaming of Liberty Ave as Cheddi Jagan Ave and the area as Little Guyana. Meetings were held with Chuck Mohan, Mel Carpen, Ramesh Khellawan, Ron Sukhram and others towards that goal. The idea did not get much traction. The elected representatives of the area were not enthused with renaming any street or the area. Black American Councillor Tom White, in particular, refused to entertain the thought. Jagan had no connection with Liberty Ave, but it was Pt. Ramlall who coined the area around 133 Street and Liberty as Dr. Jagan Square. A Jamaica hospital outreach medical centre was also named after Jagan on Liberty Ave.

The issue of renaming Liberty Ave was laid to rest until it was resurrected in conversation between myself and Ashook Ramsaran. For the last three decades, Ramsaran and I spoke regularly almost daily on various issues impacting the Guyanese, Indo-Caribbean and Indian diasporas and on politics in countries of origin and I broached the subject. He was successful in leading an initiative to get a portion of a street of Hillside Ave, Jamaica, named after Ramesh Kalicharran, an icon in the Guyanese, Caribbean, and South Asian communities. Ramsaran and I talked of getting Liberty Ave co-named ‘Little Guyana.’  After Pandit Ramlall passed away two years ago, Ramsaran undertook the task to co-name 133rd Street & Liberty Avenue after Pt Ramall. I asked him to spearhead Liberty Ave as Little Guyana. He suggested that District Leaders Richard David and Dr. Taj Rajkumar and other community leaders like Romeo Hitlall and Dr. Dhanpaul Narine, among others, as the persons to undertake the task.

Ramsaran subsequently told me he discussed the idea with Richard David who took on the mission. He approached Adrienne Adams to get it done. After portions of Richmond Hill were co-named Little Punjab and Gurudwara Street last year, Guyanese galvanized into action. Dr. Dhanpaul and I conversed the need for Liberty to be named Little Guyana. Through lobbying of Richard and Ashook, Councilwoman Adams expedited the process together with the Pandit Ramlall Way proposal; she is seeking re-election and faces stiff competition and Ramsaran and Adams go back when she first ran for the vacant NYC Council seat assisting her campaign and I kept following up with him on the issue. Richard David was key to the co-naming and very instrumental in getting it done. Romeo Hitlal and Dr Dhanpaul are on the committee organising the programme for the unveiling of the street sign.

We must applaud the effort of everyone who is responsible for the formal co-naming of a portion of Liberty Ave and Lefferts Blvd as Little Guyana Way. The ‘Trinis’ are not very pleased with their exclusion of the co-naming and rightly so. They have settled there before the Guyanese. The area has a huge ‘Trini’ imprint with tens of thousands residing there along with countless Trini businesses and several ‘Trini’ mandirs. I suggested to Ramsaran that Lefferts Blvd subway station be co-named ‘Little Guyana’ as well similar to what I observed at subway stations in Paris, Frankfurt, NY to honor the presence of Arabs, Turks, and Orientals respectively.

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